Business planning

4 Tips For Boosting Your Travel Wedding Business

gegwegetAs a wedding planner, you have the rare opportunity to help people’s dreams come to life. However, with the average wedding costing around $35,329 according to The Knot, it can be difficult to land clients that are willing to fork over the funds for a true destination wedding. Granted, this is no cheap affair, but with the right approach in diversifying your options, you too can see a boost in sales by a multitude of customers. Here’s how:

Open Up An Online Shop

If you’re looking to boost sales, then an excellent suggestion might be to start an online shop. Whether it be for wedding or travel accessories, having an eCommerce store will be another revenue stream for you to bring in more. However, knowing how to start an online store can be tough, which is why it’s good to start small and work your way up.

Decide what inventory you’re going to try and carry, as well as what benefit it’s going to serve your customers. Depending on if you use a website builder like Squarespace or Wix, you might already have an eCommerce plugin that will automatically allow you to start uploading products. However, if that’s not the case, then possibly look to integrate a plugin like Shopify or WooCommerce. The goal here is to have a shop that’s easy to manage on the road, which you should feel a level of comfort over the usability and pricing.

Become A Resource For Clients

Another thing to be mindful of in your destination wedding planning is knowing how to be a valuable resource for things beyond just the actual logistics of the wedding. For example, let’s say that you have a client that has always wanted a wedding abroad, but is worried they might not be able to afford the extra frills that come along with their ceremony. By being able to offer solutions to anything from bridal gowns to even what airline they should go with, you’ll be providing a service that puts you above the competition.

Make a list of the possible suggestions you might have to the couples you work with, as you never know when these might come in handy. Plus, this is an excellent opportunity to form partnerships with those who you might not have initially considered. Overall, the more you’re able to help, the more business you’re likely to bring in.

Focus On A Few Cities At A Time

When planning travel weddings, one of the primary things you should focus on is quality over quantity. Quite simply, while it’s great to be able to list off 100 cities or towns that someone should get married in, that means nothing if you don’t have the network to help a couple make their dream wedding come to fruition. That’s why picking only a few places and really honing in on how you can develop relationships there will be what brings on more referrals.

No matter if you already have a list established, take a look at diversifying your offerings into different types of destination weddings. For starters, let’s say having a place in the country, the city, or even the beach. Take note of the types of experiences you could offer, such as a Broadway-themed wedding in New York or a vineyard inspired countryside escape. These will help you compile packages that can be sold at a bulk rate, saving your clients money while simultaneously giving continuous business to your vendors. I’ll note that this process is going to take quite a bit of time, but is one that will bring your clients what they’re ultimately after.

Get Social With It

Finally, perhaps one of the most important aspects of marketing your destination wedding business is utilizing social media, which has become a hub of discovery for newlyweds. According to WeddingWire, 70% of couples use social media to plan for their wedding at work, making it one of the first points of contact they look towards for research. And if you’re looking to gain more hits, it’s best to start studying up on how you capitalize on that market as well.

First and foremost, become a master of Instagram and Pinterest- two of the top places that host wedding-related content. Additionally, get in the habit of posting regularly, focusing on the visual aspects of the vendors you work with. As people love travel posts regardless, this will be an excellent opportunity to showcase your business regardless. And finally, always include a call to action that leads people to contact you. For example, “Sunsets over the Allegheny Mountains can be one of the perfect backdrops for getting hitched. Want this to be your wedding? Click the link in our bio to learn more” where the “click the link” is the action that brings them to your page. All-in-all, social is going to be one of the best inbound strategies you’ve got, so make it worthwhile.

What are some ways you’ve been looking to improve your travel wedding business? Comment with your insights below.

If you have any questions, please ask below!